The similarity of Bi Luo Chun and Jade Pearl comes from the process of hand rolling the tea leaves but are distinguished by the texture of the leaf; Jade Pearl uses hairy tea leaves whilst Bi Luo Chun uses slightly less hairy leaves. The hairs on tea leaves are a result of using tea leaf buds - the young shoots of the tea tree - which are rich in nutrients such as theanine and tea polyphenols. You can really see this hairs on the white tea Bai Hao Silver Needle!

The scientific name for these hairs is pekoe and the amount of pekoe on the leaf will affect the taste, aroma and caffeine level. The pekoe on un-fermented green tea is white but shows golden on fully fermented black tea. As the tea plant gradually matures with the season, the pekoe will fade away.